Indian Scout Pre-Production Fueling Issue

WRIST: Brian Hatano
MSRP (2014): $10,999
MILES: 2,594
MPG: 44
MODS: None
UPDATE: 2

Riding a preproduction motorcycle as popular as the 2015 Indian Scout is like hanging out with a celebrity. It's an attention-getter, and unless you shun contact with people wanting to check out your ride, it's a pretty cool part of the new-model experience. I've been flagged down and thumbed-up in traffic more than a dozen times in the past couple weeks, and I don't expect the high spirits to level off at least until December when dealers start fulfilling orders.

But there’s a practical side to letting riders other than the engineering team put miles on a preproduction bike too. It affords the manufacturer another opportunity to become aware of any mechanical or cosmetic concerns before it reaches the consumer. A perfect example occurred with our testbike.

The Scout does not have a fuel-level gauge, so while I was getting a feel for the range I could expect after a fill-up, I noticed the engine seemed to starve for fuel with approximately 120 miles on the tripmeter. With a 3.3-gallon capacity, something didn’t gibe. It felt like I was running out of fuel, yet no low-fuel warning light illuminated until after the engine stumble manifested. It wasn’t normal behavior, but neither was it critical enough for me to become alarmed, so I filled up and kept riding.

Shortly after that incident, I received a notice from Indian that a couple other preproduction Scouts were having similar fueling issues and that Indian engineers not only were aware of the problem but already had a fix in place for production.

According to Indian, the problem stems from some of the fuel-plate assemblies not drawing fuel from the lowest portion of the tank. We’re told that future Scout owners have no need to worry about this fueling issue and that an updated fuel-plate assembly is already in production. The preproduction Scouts, however, are still waiting for the updated assembly, so I’ll be eyeing my tripmeter and filling up early until the Fleet Center can make the necessary repairs. Our Scout is also overdue for its first service, which will also have to be handled at the Indian fleet center since dealer parts departments do not have Scout oil filters in stock yet. Hopefully I’ll be able to take care of everything in one shot very soon then get out for a good, long ride.